The Sword That Would Represent Mount Hua (3)
It was common sense that a person could not unleash two martial arts at the same time. But strictly speaking, that was not actually true.
Whenever martial artists fought, they were usually channeling their inner energy while also swinging their fists or stepping through footwork. So to say a person could never use two martial arts at once was, in fact, wrong.
To be more precise, the correct statement was this: a person could not use martial arts of the same lineage simultaneously.
Could one hand unleash the Plum Blossom Sword Art while the other used Chilmaegeom? Could one hand wield the Plum Blossom Sword Art while the other performed the Bamboo Leaf Hand?
If one merely alternated between two martial arts, it might be barely possible. But even then, using two arts completely independently was next to impossible.
That was because each martial art had a different way of circulating inner energy, and each drew different lines of movement.
If the forms were woven together so precisely that they did not overlap, then they were no longer two martial arts at all, but one entirely new technique.
That was why it was said to be impossible to unleash two martial arts at once. To make that possible, a person would need to have two minds in their head instead of one.
And yet there was one sect that had made that impossibility possible: Wudang.
Within the many taoist temples atop Wudang Mountain, there had always been no shortage of people who could only be called eccentrics. In their own ways, they endured all manner of hardships in pursuit of enlightenment.
Among them had been one who tried to split the mind in two.
A person could objectively observe only others, never themselves; and no one else could ever fully peer into that person’s inner world. So if I became two, I could attain the Dao faster than anyone else.
That absurd idea had unexpectedly borne fruit. Through the transmission that followed, they had finally succeeded in dividing consciousness into two.
It had not helped much with realizing the Dao, as the creator had hoped, but in terms of martial arts alone, it had proven astonishingly effective.
Just look.
KWAAAAAA!
Within the sword energy pouring down like a flood, a gentle force rippled and swayed.
Sword energy and force, each of a completely different nature, mingled as though they were one, then drifted apart again, each unfolding its own distinct technique.
W-What the hell is this…?
Yoon Jong yelped and hurled himself backward. But the sword energy and force continued to surge toward him, writhing as though unwilling to let him escape.
“Tch!”
Realizing he had no other choice, Yoon Jong hurled out a blade of blue sword qi and slashed downward, then horizontally.
Fwaaaaah!
At once, a massive wall of sword qi formed before him.
KUUUUUURRRGH!
When the surging sword energy collided with it, the wall shuddered violently and was pushed back, but somehow it did not break, managing to hold.
It, it’s holding…
And then, in that instant.
Yoon Jong’s eyes flew wide open in shock.
The force that had been advancing alongside the sword energy suddenly changed direction, slipping around the sword wall and striking at his side.
The sight of that white barrier twisting course was almost like watching something alive—or a ghost.
That’s impossible!
But there was no time to dwell on it.
Yoon Jong swiftly withdrew the sword he had extended and launched his body into the air. The sword energy and force that surged beneath him swept through the space he had just occupied by a hair’s breadth.
WOOOOOOOONG!
The sole of his foot, which he had failed to pull clear in time, was caught by the sword energy and torn away. Yoon Jong flipped his body several times in midair before landing on the empty arena floor and rolling to a stop.
KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAAAAANG!
White force struck the very spot where he had been standing, over and over, smashing the flagstones and grinding them to pieces.
Driven nearly to the edge of the platform, Yoon Jong sprang up like a darting flying squirrel and fixed Mu Yeon with a wary glare. He looked like a cat with its fur bristling and its temper lit.
“……”
Drip. Drip.
Sweat slid down to the point of his chin and fell.
It was an onslaught he could not describe as anything other than a storm. With a groan, Yoon Jong spoke.
“...Dual Polarities Mind Method.”
“That’s right.”
Mu Yeon smiled faintly.
“I’m not yet fully refined, but I can imitate it to a degree. What do you think? Looks pretty useful, doesn’t it?”
Useful?
Yoon Jong barely suppressed the bitter laugh surging up in him.
The Dual Polarities Mind Method.
One of the absolute pinnacle secret arts of Wudang, allowing two martial arts to be used simultaneously.
He had certainly heard of it, but until now he had never properly understood what it meant to use two martial arts at the same time. He had thought it was still just martial arts—wasn’t it enough to simply face the opponent with both at once?
But the Dual Polarities Mind Method, experienced firsthand, was nothing like he had expected.
It feels like I’m fighting two absolute masters at once.
No one understood better than Yoon Jong just how terrifying that was.
He was the one most skilled at combining attacks with another to overwhelm an opponent. When he fought side by side with Jo Gul, he could handle enemies far stronger than either of them alone.
When swords of different natures meshed together like interlocking gears, they could produce not just double, but triple or even quadruple strength.
But right now, Mu Yeon was single-handedly doing what Jo Gul and Yoon Jong had always needed to do together.
This is the Dual Polarities Mind Method…
It was truly a divine and wondrous martial art beyond belief.
Yoon Jong swallowed hard. It was the moment he felt in his bones why the world praised Wudang’s martial arts so highly.
“...Can he actually deal with that?”
From Baek Cheon’s lips, too, escaped a voice like a moan.
The Dual Polarities Mind Method was a pinnacle art no one walking the jianghu could fail to know. Along with the Taiji Wisdom Sword, Soft Palm, and Ten-Step Gold, was this not one of the arts that symbolized Wudang?
But hearing of it and seeing it with one’s own eyes were as different as heaven and earth.
“...No, that’s... cheating.”
Jo Gul, having somehow returned after treatment, muttered blankly. Since he too had mainly used combined attacks with Yoon Jong, he knew better than anyone just how incredible the secret art unfolding before them was.
“This is... Wudang.”
Even Yu I-seol murmured, her expression frozen stiff.
This was what people meant by true foundations. Why Wudang was Wudang. Why, despite their relatively short history, they stood at the very head of the Daoist sects in the Central Plains. The scene before them seemed to explain it all.
Still unable to look away from the arena, Baek Cheon said, “...Chung Myung.”
“Yeah?”
“Does that even make sense?”
Chung Myung snorted.
“That’s why I told you already.”
“...”
“Wudang’s martial arts only get stronger with time. Half the reason is because of that damned thing over there.”
The Dual Polarities Mind Method, along with the Taiji Wisdom Sword, was one of the most obscure pinnacle arts in Wudang. A damned martial art so difficult that only the upper ranks among the first-generation disciples were even allowed to learn it.
“Honestly, it just pisses me off every time I see it.”
“...When did you even see it again?”
“No, think about it.”
“Huh?”
Chung Myung glared and complained as if he’d been wronged.
“What? Split the human mind in two? What the hell kind of sick, creepy bullshit is that? Let’s be real here—how is that a righteous sect’s martial art? Even those bastards from the evil sect wouldn’t do something like that.”
“...”
Baek Cheon’s eyes trembled slightly.
Come to think of it... that almost sounded right...
“And those bastards had the nerve to call the Plum Blossom Sword Art uncanny? I’d like to jam a pine tree into their heads and see how they like it! Who the hell are they talking to?”
“C-Calm down, Chung Myung.”
Baek Cheon, sweating cold, clutched at Chung Myung as though he might bolt straight into Wudang’s camp at any second.
Why did this bastard always explode like this?
“T-That’s not the point right now! At least tell Yoon Jong how he should deal with that—”
“Deal with it, my ass!”
But Chung Myung sniffed dismissively.
“If there were a way to handle it, I wouldn’t be suffering over it either.”
“...Huh?”
“There is no countermeasure. That’s not some trick or loophole. It’s a martial art, plain and simple.”
“...”
“Annoying as hell.”
Baek Cheon’s face visibly hardened at the answer.
“It’s obnoxious beyond words, but the effect is certain. The moment you can use the Dual Polarities Mind Method, your martial prowess rises by at least half a rank.”
“...It certainly looks that way.”
No one could tell what principle made it possible, but they could see its effect with absolute clarity.
Baek Cheon felt as though something had lodged in his chest, leaving him stifled and uncomfortable.
Just when you thought you had climbed over one mountain, there was another, larger one beyond it. And just when you thought you had surpassed that, a mountain twice as large would stand in your path.
Now he understood why people said the strength of a great sect had no end.
So that is the mountain we must ultimately overcome.
There could not be two tigers on one mountain. If Mount Hua was to rise as a true Daoist sect in the jianghu, Wudang was an opponent they had to surpass.
But...
There was sympathy in Baek Cheon’s gaze as it remained fixed on Yoon Jong’s back. The burden seemed far too heavy for Yoon Jong alone to carry.
“Yoon Jong...”
At last, unable to hold it in, Baek Cheon murmured his name. Chung Myung gave a snort of laughter.
“What? Looks like too much for Yoon Jong sahyung?”
“...”
“Would it be fine if it were you, Sasuk?”
“W-Who said that?”
Baek Cheon’s face flushed red. Chung Myung shook his head and clicked his tongue.
“This is why geniuses are such a pain in the ass... tsk tsk.”
“W-What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Watch closely.”
“Hm?”
As Chung Myung’s voice turned serious, a different light appeared in Baek Cheon’s eyes as well.
“If geniuses have a genius’s way, then ordinary people have an ordinary person’s way. And...”
Chung Myung kept his eyes fixed on Yoon Jong’s back without blinking.
“Yoon Jong sahyung is the one who understands that best.”
The shoulders that had been trembling gradually steadied. Drawing in a breath, Yoon Jong quietly stared at Mu Yeon.
This is a sparring match...
If this had been a real battle, he would not have been given even the time to steady his breathing.
But his opponent was giving him a chance to catch his breath. Whether it was because this was a duel or because Mu Yeon was simply generous, he could not tell, but for now, relief outweighed anger.
He’s strong.
There was no doubt the title of Wudang’s Three Swords had not been given for nothing.
The sword energy and force that came at him together through the Dual Polarities Mind Method were enough to make an opponent’s mind reel. If Yoon Jong had encountered such a situation for the first time, he would already have been sprawled on the ground without even knowing how he got there.
But...
It’s not as hopeless as that time.
The battle with the Bishop still stood vivid before his eyes.
He still remembered clearly that overwhelming presence, as though Asura had descended upon the mortal world.
Compared to the shock of standing before a being forged from despair and chaos, this was almost humane.
Even then, I didn’t know what to do.
Yoon Jong had done nothing but grit his teeth, cling on, and endure.
And that would not change now.
He quietly took a middle guard stance.
The foundational stance from which all swordsmanship began.
Then, shifting his center of gravity back by three parts, he called out in a low voice.
“Come.”
A smile touched Mu Yeon’s lips.
I should have brought more second- and third-generation disciples with me. Then this man would have had much more to teach them.
No, in truth, he too was learning.
From that unwavering stance.
WOOOONG.
Mu Yeon’s sword, heavy with inner energy, began to tremble on its own.
Then it would only be polite to give my all!
Hardening his resolve, Mu Yeon swung his sword.
The sword energy, now even deeper and denser than before, transformed into a raging current and crashed down upon Yoon Jong. Exposed to that immense force, Yoon Jong’s body began to sway like a lone boat caught in a storm.